Explore a Question or Concern

My Phone and the Real World

Photo by Amy LV

Students - This morning, on such a gorgeous snowy day, I woke up to write and to see what would show up on the page. When I approach the page, sometimes I know where I'll begin. Sometimes not. Today I found myself noticing my own mind and how distracted I can become sometimes, too often thinking that I need or want to check something on my phone. Even though I do this, I am not happiest with myself or my mind or spirit when I do so. So I started to write about it. Writing, I was reminded me of Mike Teavee from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and then line by line today's poem appeared.

Appearing poems don't usually look pretty. For me they're full of inky scribbles and cross outs, two things that feel much better for me on paper than at a screen. As do most things, to be honest.

Notebook in the Morning

Photo by Amy LV

Today you may consider taking a question or concern from your own life and writing from that. You might even fictionalize it as I did here, taking your original question or concern and then building a made-up story around it. Sometimes, fictionalized concerns will bring up new truths and ideas. Stoeytelling can also make writing less personal and even easier to explore. As a writer, this is your right. The pages are your freedom. They are also mine.

And remember - you can always end a poem with a question. You may also title your poem after you write it. This one took a bit. I kept reading and reading the poem, knowing that the title would show itself. It did. No One Knows is a line in the poem. And well, it also answers the final question.

Tabatha is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at The Opposite of Indifference with some wise "random bits." Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

Take good care of your mind. It is you, and what you shape now will be with you for your whole life.

xo,

Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Know that your comment will only appear after I approve it.

If you are under 13 years old, please only comment 

with a parent or as part of a group with your teacher.

Unplug and Listen

A Garden After Rain, June 6, 2025

Photo by Amy LV

Students - It rained all last night here, and oh did I love it! The sound of rain is one of my favorite sounds (along with crunching leaves and the bump of a rock kicked down the road). Right before dinner yesterday, I planted a few more plants, hoping that Mother Rain would swoop in overnight...tucking each basil and pea and nasturtium plant into their big earthen bed. And she did! In fact, it is still raining now in the morning as I write on the front porch. It sounds just like a lullaby.

Today's poem is a small one, yet I wrote many notebook pages about rain before I arrived here. Somehow the simplicity of the rain, the purity of the water droplets, the gentle drumming felt so...so...so...opposite of much of the online world. This opposite place is important for my humanity. For all of our humanity.

The few lines above are a list poem, beginning with a list of the things NOT happening, and twisting at the end to the one thing that IS happening. List poems are not difficult to write, and they can allow us to contrast two things.

This week - this summer - this life - I encourage you to unplug from everything and allow thoughts to arrive in your mind in the quiet. Allow non-tech sounds to tap on your heart. Write with no devices nearby. If you make this a practice, such times will become a good, solid friend to you. This is one of my own summer goals, and should you join me, I would love to hear about it.

I would like to extend my respect and gratitude to the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade members of the TRA (Tioughnioga Riverside Academy) Writing Club in Whitney Point, NY for our time together this week. I so appreciated joining your club virtually for one day and admire how you meet weekly and explore different writing topics and techniques in community. I wish you all a beautiful writing summer. Thank you, too, to your teacher leaders including Laura Farwell who connected us, who have built this important place for thinking and creation.

Buffy is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at Buffy Silverman with a spotlight on two new lyrical STEM picture books. Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.

May you be soothed by raindrops and other nature goodnesses.

xo,

Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Know that your comment will only appear after I approve it.

If you are under 13 years old, please only comment 

with a parent or as part of a group with your teacher.

Devour. Voracious. Eat Poem #224!

Wordivore

by Amy LV

Well, yesterday reinforced something I have often spoken about.  When you write all the time, ideas find you.  They know you're waiting for them.  Just like a monarch finds a milkweed, a snowball finds a sister...a poem finds someone willing to write it down.  Yesterday, brushing my teeth, I just began playing with the words carnivore, herbivore, omnivore.  My mind tickled those words all day long, so when evening came...the poem was plain fun to write.  Later, tucking my children into bed, Hope said, "Mom, you're a loveivore!"  Yep.

Students - Originally I didn't plan to make up all of these silly words.  But somehow that suffix, vore, just took over the whole darn poem!  Prefixes and suffixes and root words are so interesting...I will definitely be writing more poems like this.  If you try it, please let me know.

On another note, I have new technology fun to share.  The Poem Farm is now playing with QR codes, something I learned about last night from Franki Sibberson at A Year of Reading, who points the way to Jeff Utecht's blog, The Thinking Stick.  "What is a QR code?" you ask.  Well, I didn't know until yesterday either.  But it's a little code you can zap with your telephone or computer and be instantly transported to a bit of information.  If you have someone with a smart phone nearby, zap this with the barcode scanner (just like checking prices), and you will find one of my older posts, a list poem called "Favorite Words".  Whoa.  Weird world, isn't it?

I would love to get these little Poem Farm QR codes out into the world.  The one in the upper right hand corner is a general Poem Farm code, and if you are willing digitally share it or print it out and share it in some paper-way...I would be very grateful!  It's fun to imagine sneaking poems into different parts of the country and world.  Please do tell me if you are willing to be part of this craziness so that I can thank you properly - amy at amylv dot com.

(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)